The present invention relates to a child restraint apparatus for example a child car seat for use in a vehicle. In particular, the present invention concerns such apparatus for reducing the risk of injury to passengers present in the vehicle who are seated adjacent said child car seat in the event of a vehicle accident or the like.
In this connection, it is well known to provide child car seats to carry children and infants safely in vehicles. Most commonly, the child car seat is located on the rear seat of a vehicle and is attached or restrained to the vehicle seat using a connection which makes use of a standard vehicle seat belt or dedicated connection points such as lower anchors, top tethers or those of the Isofix type. That said, child car seats may also be located on a front passenger seat of a vehicle, in which case, the child car seat is usually attached using the front passenger seat belt.
When located on the rear seat of a vehicle, the seat area taken up by a child car seat typically extends over the at least the width of one of the rear seat cushions. As such, additional passengers are able to occupy the remaining rear vehicle seats, including the seat immediately adjacent the seat cushion occupied by the child car seat.
In terms of their structure, child car seats typically comprise a seat portion, a back portion and a head portion to support the child or infant occupant. The child car seat may also comprise raised side portions, which serve to restrict transverse movement of the child in the child car seat. The seat, back, head and raised side portions are commonly formed of a plastics material. The child car seat thereby effectively provides a rigid protective shell or body which at least partially surrounds the occupant of the child car seat. The seat, back, head and side portions of the child car seat may be covered in foam or other suitable cushioning materials on their inner facing surfaces to provide both a soft comfortable support for the child or infant against the underlying harder rigid plastic surfaces, and furthermore to provide cushioning against the internal surfaces of the shell should the child car seat be subjected to a sudden acceleration or deceleration.
In the event of a collision with another vehicle or object, such child car seats serve to properly restrain an occupant of the seat and to improve their immediately subsequent kinematics, thereby reducing the severity of injury to the child or infant. Further impact protection is afforded by the rigid shell which partially surrounds the occupant of the child car seat.
In a side impact to the vehicle, the fixings of the child seat with the vehicle, e.g. lower anchors, top tethers, Isofix connection points or the seat belt, may as a result of sufficient forces from the vehicle impact, permit the child car seat to move to some degree in a direction substantially in line with the direction of the vehicle impact. The amount and direction of movement of the child car seat will depend on a number of factors including the magnitude and direction of vehicle impact and the fixing method employed. A passenger occupying a seat adjacent to the child car seat, for example the middle rear seat of the vehicle, may as a result be impacted by the child car seat as the child car seat moves. Consequently, a passenger sitting adjacent the child seat may themselves suffer injury to the side of their body, including the torso, arms and/or upper leg areas, depending on the shape of the child car seat and where precisely the child car seat impacts the passenger.
In addition to injury that may be caused to an adjacent passenger, the impact of the child car seat on the adjacent passenger may also cause a sudden deceleration to the child car seat. This sudden deceleration may in turn cause injury to the occupant of the car child seat, as a result of the potentially high forces exerted in particular on the child seat occupant=s head and neck.
If the side impact of the vehicle should however occur on the opposite side of the vehicle, i.e. when the child car seat is positioned furthest from the point of impact on the rear seat of a vehicle, then there is a risk that the adjacent passenger to the child car seat will in this instance move towards the child car seat. Again there is a risk that the adjacent passenger will be injured as a result of impact with the child car seat, for example injury to the pelvis. Similarly, the occupant of the child car seat, due to the sudden impact, may be subjected to unduly high forces in particular to the occupant=s head and neck. Furthermore, the impact of the adjacent passenger with the child car seat may also in turn result in the child car seat impacting with the interior side of the vehicle and causing further injuries to the occupant of the child car seat.
The present invention seeks to overcome the aforementioned problems and seeks to reduce the likelihood of injury to a passenger sitting adjacent a child restraint such as a child car seat.